Obama and the new Latin America

By Pepe Escobar

SAO PAULO - Even before its Lincolnesque inauguration, the Barack Obama presidency and Latin America already seem to be on a collision course.

This Tuesday, in a groundbreaking, wide-ranging, 33-country Latin American and Caribbean summit coordinated by the Brazilian government, Raul Castro - in his first trip abroad since taking over from Fidel in 2006 - saw Cuba accepted as the 23rd member of the Group of Rio political forum, a body created in 1986 to promote Latin American cooperation.